List Format

FIDO 2 List Column Order example

E-Mail_Address *

First_Name

Last_Name

Customer_ID#

UserField_1

UserField_2

UserField_3

See Previous Publication Header Row

On the FIDO 2 New List Import screen, click the "View Publication Header Row" to see what has been previously used as headers. Header row labels can NOT contain spaces or non-ascii characters. Use dashes or underscores for multiple word header labels (e.g., First_Name Zip-Code)

Saving Lists from Excel

FIDO 2 List Format: Tab-Delimited Text File

FIDO 2 lists must be saved as a tab-delimited text file (*.txt). Excel is an easy way to quickly save a list as a tab-delimited text file. Use Excel's Save As operation to export the list to a "Tab-Delimited Text File". Then, import the TXT file (not theExcel file) into the FIDO 2 publication.

Mac Users: txt files must be formatted as Unix (LF) or Windows (CRLF) after exporting from the Mac version Excel. A free download of Text Wranger from Bare Bones Software makes simple work of opening and reformatting then saving the file as indicated. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Glossary

FIDO 2 Terms

Publication — A FIDO Publication is the theme to a series of e-mail issues and has one particular subscriber list associated with it. Think of aPublication like Time-Life, Sports Illustrated, or Home & Garden magazines. These are thematic publications, each with a particular set of subscribers.

Issue — A FIDO Issue is what actually gets sent from a publication. Thinking about magazines, you receive an Issue of Time-Life, SportsIllustrated, or Home & Garden each week or month. An Issue is the actual e-mailsent on a specific date.

Stats Glossary

Sent — Total number of e-mails that fido sent.

Total Sent — Total number of times the e-mail has been viewed(someone may view an e-mail more than 1x).

Unique Opens — Unique number of people (out of the Total sent) that have looked at the mail at least 1x.

Total Opens — Total number of times that an e-mail has been opened.

Unique Clicks — Unique number of people who have clicked on a link at least 1x.

Total Clicks — Total number of times a particular link in the e-mail has been clicked.

Bounced — Total number of undeliverable e-mails

Unsubscribed — Total number of clicks to the opt-out page.

E-Mail Writing Tips

Subject Line: The Key

People open e-mail for three reasons:

They know who it is from.

The subject line has meaning to the reader.

The subject line drives curiosity to explore further.

Make sure your subject line clearly communicates the message inside. Keep the subject line concise and make it relevant to the reader.

EMAIL BODY: Three Questions

Keep your message concise and direct, making it more effective.

Who is the e-mail from?

What's in it for the recipient?

What do you want the recipient to do?

Work Hard to Disengage “E-Mail Reading Mode”

The goal of email is for recipients to click through to a website. In other words,get them out of “E-Mail Reading Mode”. E-Mail Reading Mode is where people sit at their computers, see they have 17 new messages and try to get through all 17before they do anything else. If your message is in that list, you want them to stop at your email. In order to do that you have to disengage them from E-Mail ReadingMode. The E-Mail Reading Mode behavior is replaced with a click-through to your website. You need to disengage E-Mail Reading Mode by engaging them with some action or information on your website. Once they are on your site, your e-mail recipient is no longer in E-Mail Reading Mode but now a Web Visitor, searching to do or find something specific on your site — exactly what you want. Congrats!

Less is more

People view e-mail differently than other media. As a matter of fact, they don't read e-mail — they scan it. For best results, write short summary or“teaser” sentences which link back to your website for more information. As we like to say “Pithy is Preferred”. Let the reader get the details on your site.

An e-mail communicates best when the reader can make a quick decision to

Click a link to get more info

file the e-mail for later or

Delete (due to lack of interest)

Helping the reader make this decision efficiently will enhance your brand and message.

Use text and not a web address as a link

When linking to a website, use text as the link and not the actual web address. MostSPAM filters will mark the message as possible SPAM when a web address is used as a link. For example, don't do the following:

Don’t “Click Here!”

Avoid using the phrase “Click Here”. The “click here” phrase is used by amateurs who don't know how to create proper links. Instead use action-phrase (verbs) to create links. For example instead of writing,